Harry Potter and the Countess of Vir
by Adamina Earth
Summary: Harry Potter's Seventh and final year at Hogwarts has a whole cast of new characters, including people from other worlds.


**Harry Potter and the Countess of Vir**

Prologue: Once Upon a Stormy Night

o-0-o-0-o

The wind tore into her cloak, trying to push her back to where she had come from. Some may take it as a warning, but she knew the real reason.

"Quiet, Louise," the woman whispered, hoping to sedate her friend. "I won't be harmed."

Almost immediately, the howl dropped to a whisper, but was obviously still aggravated.

"Shhhh…"

A noise, of wings flapping, came from above. The woman raised her head and saw her sensei, her guide, her mentor, flying through the rain and sleet, ice beginning to form onto his silver wings. The rain was soft and comforting, like butterfly kisses, and off in the distance, a wolf howled. She smiled, for she knew that she was not alone.

Reaching the large castle doors, she knocked, once, twice, thrice upon their majestic word surface. The clanking noise, a hollow sound, resonated through the air, into the loamy earth and up into the darkened sky. Stars were seen, winking out every once in awhile, but for the most part, the clouds and fog hid everything in sight.

Until the castle doors open, and a lady, looking severe, peered out.

"Yes?"

"Er… Headmistress, you asked for me?" the woman in the cloak held up an important looking letter, though the ink was beginning to run from the wet.

"Ah, Mikayla. You're here."

"... yes." The woman looked around her, as if she had suddenly appeared from a dream. Then she smiled. "Yes, McGonagall, I am here."

o-0-o-0-o-0-o

"So-"

"All the arrangements have been made. Your room is already set up, if you want to stay here for tonight."

"Actually, I was wondering about… well, about Toraka. Mistress already told you-?"

"Oh, right. The griffin."

_Gryffon,_ the woman thought to herself. _Proper pronunciation is Gryffon. Also, he's not an animal. He's human._

_Well, sort of._

"A nest has been made for it near the forest. If that's not good enough, then it could probably sleep in one of the empty cages that-"

"No, no, the forest will be fine." What made her blood run cold is the ease at which Headmistress talked about Toraka, as if he were no more than a pet, a beast. How uneducated these people were.

Although, they had never been subject to situations involving-

"I trust you know where your living quarters are?"

Shaken from her thoughts, the woman smiled. "Yes, McGonagall, I've been here before."

With a small screech, she pushed her chair back and exited from the Headmistress' office.

o-0-o-0-o-0-o

"It won't be so bad, you'll see."

Snort.

"I mean, come on; it's not as if they'll treat you bad,"

"What about respect? Those brats wouldn't know respect from rudeness, the way everything else had been going on. I can just imagine what they'll say on the first day: 'Ack! Please! Save us from the dreaded monster!'"

"You know, would it be possible if, just once, you looked on the positive side of things?"

"I doubt it." The Gryffon snorted with contempt. "Sorry, but war has already tried and tested my patience too far beyond its limits."

"You're just being pessimistic…" The woman sighed, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle. No matter how hard she tried, she could never get him to change his mind. That was just the way he was.

Getting up, she glanced at the claming sky and frowned. "Well, we'd best be moving on here, before anyone finds us."

"Aye."

The two walked around the castle grounds for a bit, contemplating silently, until-

"So, who's this one kid that the spinster was talking about?"

She frowned. "Stop it. Honestly, you're as rude as those kids you keep whining about. She's the headmistress; show a little respect."

"I already told you-"

"I know what you told me, sensei. Just stop using it as an excuse." She took a sharp breath, trying to calm down. "She said his name's Potter, and apparently he's really important."

"At least in this world."

o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o

A/N: Hello, peoples. This is my very first fanfiction that I am proud of (and that I'm going to show you guys), and so I want to make it the best that it can be. Sorry for it being short, will make the chapters longer as they go by.

So. First things first: big shout out of thanks to xpakux, who fills my boring school lessons with private messages and stories. Thanks so much!

Second thing first: I will be having all of my author's notes at the end of the chapter, like this one is. Important stuff will (almost always) be in the author's notes, so be sure to check them out every once in awhile. This is also where my disclaimer will be, so that no one can sue. HOWEVER: the extra characters that appear (trust me, there's a lot) are all from my novels and such. Those people, I own.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


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